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A. E. NESPER 8: G. J. HABERMANN. RAILWAY SWITCH.

No. 584,398. Patented June 15,1897.

.fiwentons; .flriizur E. Wsper, George J'Habernzwnn.

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ARTHUR E. NESPER AND GEORGE J. HABERMANN, OF CLEVELAND, OI-lIO,ASSIGNORS OF ONE-TENTH TO ALBERT B. CONKEY, OF SAME PLACE.

RAILWAY-SWITCH.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 584,398, dated June 15,1897. Application filed January 21, 1897. Serial No. 620,084. (Nomodel.) i

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, ARTHUR E. N ESPER and GEORGE J. HABERMANN, citizensof the United States, residing at Cleveland, in the county of Cuyahogaand'State of Ohio, have invented certain new and useful Improvements inRailway-Switches, of which the following isa specification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawings.

The object of our invention is to provide a railway-switch that may besuccessfully installed upon cable, electric, or other railways and whichmay be easily operated from any car passing over the roads.

It frequently occurs in cities where several systems are in operationthat different lines are necessarily required to pass through the samethoroughfare, in whichcases the cars of the various systems are run forsome distance over the same track. Upon the main line thus used a numberof switches are located at different points to shunt the cars from theline to the several respective systems to which the cars properlybelong. Where these conditions exist, it is very desirable to employswitches that may be operated from any of the cars, regardless of thesystem to which said cars belong, and one which will be capable ofinstallation upon any system.

A further object of our invention is the production of a switchmechanism that shall comprise but few parts and which shall beconstructed and arranged so that the switch will readily withstand heavyand continual traffic and be easy to operate.

To accomplish the first object, we construct the switch in such mannerthat the entire mechanism may be located upon one side of the trackbeneath one of the rails and provide actuating devices for the same thatmay be arranged and operated from one side of the car. By this manner ofconstruction our switch may be used upon a cable-road withoutinterfering in any manner with the cableconduit or can be used upon anelectric or.

horse railway.

WVith these objects in view our invention consists in the novelconstruction of a switch mechanism and the combination and arrangementof its various parts, as will be more fully hereinafter described, andshown in the drawings, in which- Figure 1 represents a vertical centralsection through a portion of a car provided with the switch actuatingmechanism and the switch-boX. Fig. 2 is a section taken on line a; as,Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a section taken on line y Fig. 1; and Fig. 4: is aplan view of the switch mechanism.

In the drawings only one main rail A has been shown, together with theordinary branch rail B, while the letter C represents any ordinarytram-car adapted to run upon the tramway.

Beneath the rail A is located a switch-box D, preferably rectangular inform and provided with a cover E, adapted to rest when in its properposition upon a flange E upon the interior of the box near the topthereof, as plainly shown in Figs. 2 and 3. The cover is likewiseprovided with three longitudinal slots at, b, and c, the functions ofwhich will be hereinafter described.

Within the switch-box and near the center thereof is an uprightsupporting-standard G. Rearwardly of the standard near the top of thebox is arranged a lug or bearing H, provided with a center-bore, throughwhich a pin I is adapted to pass. Mounted upon the supporting-standardand the bearing II is a movable switch-point J, pivotally secured to thebearing by means of the pin 1. This switchpoint is provided with abase-plate F, preferably formed integral with the point, the edges ofwhich are corrugated to allow the dirt that may accumulate to fall intothe box beneath and thus prevent clogging of the point. At the free endof this point the baseplate is enlarged in the form of a diamond, asplainly shown at F, Fig. 4, which diamondshaped piece is adapted to restand move laterally upon the standard G.

In order that the switch may be more easily operated, a ball-bearing isintroduced beneath the free end of the movable point, which bearing isformed by providing .a recess K in the top of the standard to form aball-race and inserting a number of balls L therein.

In the forward portion of the switch-box are located two bearings M andM, in which is journaled a shaft N. Centrally secured to this shaftbetween the bearings is a rockplate 0, provided on either side withV-shaped grooves P. Thrust-plates Q Q, the lower The shaft N at the endadjacent to the supporting-standard has a downwardly-projecting arm Rfixedly secured thereto, which arm in turn carries at its lower end awristpin S, extending in a horizontal direction beneath the free end ofthe switch-point. This pin engages in the slotted end of an arm- S,secured to and projecting downwardly from the switch-point J.

It will be seen by the construction thus described that the switch-pointand the mechanism for operating the same are all located within theswitch-box, which in turn is arranged beneath one of the rails of thetramway. The point is mounted upon substantial bearings that willwithstand heavy traffic and the actuating mechanism comprises but fewparts which when operated by proper devices upon the car will readilythrow the switch from one position to another with but little efiort onthe part of the operator.

The actuating devices that we preferably employ may be arranged upon anycar adapted to run over cable or other roads and is of the followingconstruction:

Beneath the forward end of the tram-car and at one side thereof are twodownwardlyextending supporting-arms e and f. At the free end of themember e is pivotally secured a curved lever-arm g, which passes behindthe support f and carries at its free end a roller h.

'1: is a lever-arm similar in form to the arm g, which is pivoted to thesupport f at a point near the middle, carrying at its lower end a rollerj and provided at its upper end with a slot 70.

lis an upright barwhich is pivoted to the lever-arm g and the free endof the arm 2', the pin forming the pivot being adapted to have aslidingmovement in the slot 70.

m is a hand-lever pivotally secured to the front of the car to which theupright bar Z is pivotally secured. By raising or lowering thehand-lever m the rollers j and it may be brought to bearupon thethrust-plates, depressing the same,'thereby causing the switch to bethrown in the desired direction.

To retain the rollers in their different positions,we employ alock,consisting of the handlever n, the links 0 and p, and theextensionpiece g, which extension-piece is adapted to press thethrust-plate Q.

be thrown into suitable apertures by means of the spring .9, arrangedwithin a frame r, attached to the cars.

The parts having been thus described and shown their operation is asfollows: As the car approaches the s witch, which isin position for themain line, and it is desired to depart from the same, the motormanraises the handlever m, which operates the rollers j and h, throwing thelatter up and the former in'such position as to come in contact with andde- The plate being thus forced down rocks the shaft and causes thelever R to throw the movable switch-point, through the agency of the pinS and slotted arm T,into the position shown in Fig. 4. After the switchhas been thus thrown the lever-arm m may be partly lowered to a positionthat will 'hold both rollers above the ground. Where an opposite throwof the switch to 'that just described is required, the lever m is forceddownwardly to its lowest position, thereby raising the rollerj andlowering the roller h, which will come in contact with the thrust plateQ. The position of the rollers inthis latter case is illustrated by thedotted lines in Fig. 1.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim, and desire to secureby Letters Patcut, is-

1. In a switch mechanism, the combination with a plurality ofthrust-plates arranged in proximity to a main rail of a tramway system,

a movable switch-point located beyond the thrust-plates and havingsuitable connections therewith, and devices for operating the platescomprising supports attachable to/the car, lever-arms pivoted to saidsupports and provided with rollers at their free ends, the upright bar Zpivoted to the roller-carrying lever-arms in the manner described, andmeans for raising or lowering said bar, whereby the plates are depressedand the switch turned in the position desired.

2. In a switch mechanism, the combination with a switch-box provided atone end with a bearing, andin proximity to its center with asupportingstandard, a ball-bearing arranged in the standard aswitch-point mounted within the box upon the bearing and standard, saidpoint being pivotally connected to the bearing, and adapted at its freeend to move laterally upon the ball-bearing in said standard,a pluralityof upwardly-extending thrustplates mounted in the box forwardly of thepoint, connections between the plates andsaid point, and actuatingdevices attachable to the car for operating the plates.

3. A switch mechanism comprising the following instrumentalities: aswitch-box having, in proximity toits center, apartition dividing saidbox into two compartments, a bearing in one of the compartments, and aswitch-point therein, mounted upon the hearing and partition, arock-shaft journaled in the other compartment, a downwardly-extendingarm secured to the shaft carrying a pin projecting laterally intoproximity to the In testimony whereof We affix our signapartition, andan erm connecting the pin with tures in presence of two Witnesses. oneend of the swlteh-point, a rock-plate se- ARTHUR E NESPER cured t0 theshaft,upward1y-extendin thrust- 5 plates adapted to rest upon and engageWith GEORGE HABERMANN the rock-plate upon either side thereof, andWVitnesses: actuating devices attachable to the car for L. J.WHITTEMORE, depressing the plates in the manner described. CHARLES L.STOOKER.

